Closure for pneumatic tube carrier



Jan. 15, 1963 E. F. WOODLAND 3,073,546

CLOSURE FOR PNEUMATIC TUBE CARRIER Filed D60. 27, 1960 FIG. 2 ,7

FIG.3

FIG.4

INVENTOR. EDWARD F. WOODLAND ATTORNEY Jan. 15, 1963 E. F. WOODLAND3,073,546"

CLOSURE FOR PNEUMATIC TUBE CARRIER Filed Dec. 27, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2I31 ree if INVEN TOR. EDWARD E WOODLAND A T TORNE Y United States Patent()fitice Patented Jan. 15, 1963 3,073,546 CLOSURE FOR PNEUMATIC TUBECARRIER Edward Francis Woodland, 26 Steel Sh, Youngstown 9, Ohio FiledDec. 27, 1960, Ser. No. 78,481 3 Claims. (Cl. 243-35) This inventionrelates to a pneumatic tube carrier and more particularly to an improvedclosure therefor.

The principal object of the invention is the provision of a pneumatictube carrier having a new and improved closure at one end thereof.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a pneumatic tubecarrier having a resilient closure at one end.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a pneumatictube carrier having a resilient closure at one end and including meansfor holding the closure in a predetermined position relative to thecarrier.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a pneumatictube carrier with means for adequately holding the closure of thecarrier in desirable position against the carrier when the carrier ismoving through a pneumatic tube and for preventing deformation ofrepositioning of the closure relative to the carrier.

The improvement in a pneumatic tube carrier disclosed herein comes as asolution of a problem which has existed in connection with the use ofpneumatic tube carriers for many years. Such carriers employ resilientdoor or closure members at one end. The closure members being arrangedto form a cushioning construction for the carrier and for closing theinterior of the carrier to insure the retention of objects positionedtherein. These closures are commonly formed as a section of moldedrubber and are hinged to the carrier by a leather hinge and held inclosed position by an elastic strap having an eyelet which engages ahook on the closure. The resulting construction provides an excellentcushioning construction and a satisfactory closure with respect toretaining the contents in the carrier but by its very nature it iscapable of being distorted and it is capable of moving from side to sideand becoming tilted relative to the axial center line of the carrierwhereupon it acts as a wedge and wedges the carrier in the pneumatictubes. This occurs frequently and it is often necessary to tear up asection of concrete floor or wall and cut open the pneumatic tube tofree the carrier. This condition has existed for many years and the onlysolution heretofore proposed was to make the closure smaller which onlyresulted in the increased likelihood of its assuming an angled positionand wedging the carrier in the tubes. The present invention retains allof the advantages of the rubber closure which are desirable and providespositive means for positioning and securing the closure on the open endof the carrier and completely eliminates the possibility of misalignmentor improper positioning and therefore eliminates the wedging action ofthe closure and thus keeps the carrier from be coming stuck or wedged inthe pneumatic tubes.

With the foregoing and other objects in View which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and ii. the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being the intention to cover all changes andmodifications of the example of the invention herein chosen for purposesof the disclosure, which do not constitute departures from the spiritand scope of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a pneumatic tube carrier showing theimproved closure construction.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged vertical section through a portion of thecarrier and showing the closure as heretofore formed.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged detail similar to FIGURE 2 showing theapplication of a collar to the carrier.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged detail similar to FIGURE 3 showing means on thecollar to hold it in position in the carrier.

FIGURE 5 is a cross section detail through the resilient closure.

FIGURE 6 is a cross sectional detail similar to FIG- URE 5 showing thepartial positioning of an annular flange member on the resilientclosure.

FIGURE 7 is a cross sectional detail similar to FIG- URES 5 and 6showing the closure and annular flange. completely assembled.

FIGURE 8 is a vertical section similar to FIGURE 2 showing the improvedcarrier and closure.

By referring to the drawings and FIGURE 1 in particular, a pneumatictube carrier may be seen to comprise a cylindrical body member It havingan enlarged front end 11 and an enlarged back end 12. The back end 12 isclosed so that access to the cylindrical carrier ltl is bad through theopposite open end. A resilient closure 13 is hinged to the enlarged end11 as best illustrated in FIGURE 2 of the drawings wherein it will beseen that the enlarged end 11 is formed of an annular leather band 14, aportion of which extends forwardly therefrom as a strap 15 which isriveted to the resilient closure 13. The resilient closure 13 has a pairof oppositely disposed similarly formed forwardly extending sections 16,'16 which provide a resilient bumper for the carrier. The area betweenthe forwardly extending sections 16, 16 provides a recessed location fora hook 17 which is secured to the closure 13, the strap 15 and anapertured elastic strap 18 which in turn is hinged by a hingeconstruction 19 to a portion of the leather band 14 in oppositelydisposed relation to the strap 15. As illustrated in FIGURE 2 of thedrawings the conventional carrier and closure thus depend upon thechance positioning of the closure relative to the carrier with theresult heretofore described. The present invention positions an annularflange collar 24 as seen in FIGURES 1, 3 and 4 within the open end ofthe cylindrical body member 14 and with a flange 21 thereon beingoutturned as seen in FIGURES 3 and 4. In FIGURE 3 the flanged collar Edis seen inserted in the body member ill and in FIGURE 4 the innerperipheral edge 22 is seen deformed outwardly of the collar 2% andpartially embedded in the wall of the body member i=3 thus securelypositioning the flanged collar Ell therein. The flanged collar 29 ispreferably formed of stainless steel.

By referring now to FIGURE 5 of the drawings, the resilient closure 13may be seen and in accordance with this invention it has been modifiedby the formation of a peripheral groove 23 therein. A secondary annularcollar 24 having an inturned flange 25 on one edge and an inwardlycurved opposite annular edge 26- is positioned on the closure 13 withthe inturned flange 25 seated in'the peripheral groove 23. Installationof the secondary collar 24 requires distortion of the closure 13 inseating the inturned flange 25 in .the peripheral groove 23. A pair ofapertured brackets 27, 27 are secured to the inner surface of thesecondary collar 2 and as may be seen in FIGURE 7 provide means forreceiving rivets 28, 28 which extend through the closure 13 and one ofwhich is also used to secure the strap 15 thereto.

By referring now to FIGURE 8, the closure disclosed in FIGURE 7 andheretofore described may be seen installed on the carrier with thesecondary collar 24 registering telescopically and accurately within thecollar 2% where its positioning is facilitated by the flange 21 on thecollar 20 and by the inturned edge 26 on the secondary collar 24. Theresilient closure 13 is thus accurately and positively positionedrelative to the carrier 10 despite any unequal tensions existing in theleather hinge strap 15 or the apertured elastic strap 18. The resilientclosure 13 will maintain its desired position properly presenting theforwardly extending sections 16 and thereby providing a constructionwhich has all of the advantages of the resilient closures heretoforeknown in the art in connection with pneumatic tube carriers, and theadditional and highly desirable characteristic of keeping the closure inits desired position so that it cannot become positioned against orwedged against the tube and thereby wedge the carrier. Having thusdescribed my invention, What I claim is:

1. In a pneumatic tube carrier comprising a cylindrical member having aclosed end and an open end and a resilient closure for closing said openend; telescopically engaging collars positioned in the open end of saidcylindrical member and on one side of said resilient closurerespectively and acting to position said closure against transversemovement relative to said cylindrical member when engaged.

2. A pneumatic tube carrier comprising a hollow receptacle having anouter wall, a flanged collar positioned securely in one end of saidhollow receptacle, a closure for closing said receptacle, said closurecomprising a resilient disc, a secondary flanged collar secured to saidresilient disc about the peripheral edge thereof, a flexible hingeconnected with said outer wall and said resilient member, a fastenerconnected with said outer wall and removably connected with said disc,said secondary flanged collar on said disc adapted to be slidablyengaged within said flanged collar to position said disc in fixedrelation to said hollow receptacle.

3. The pneumatic carrier set forth in claim 2 and wherein said flangedcollar has an outturned peripheral edge embedded in said outer wall andwherein the flange on said secondary flanged collar has an inturnedperipheral edge embedded in the peripheral edge of said resilient disc.

Anderson June 30, 1942 Wood Nov. 22, 1960

2. A PNEUMATIC TUBE CARRIER COMPRISING A HOLLOW RECEPTACLE HAVING ANOUTER WALL, A FLANGED COLLAR POSITIONED SECURELY IN ONE END OF SAIDHOLLOW RECEPTACLE, A CLOSURE FOR CLOSING SAID RECEPTACLE, SAID CLOSURECOMPRISING A RESILIENT DISC, A SECONDARY FLANGED COLLAR SECURED TO SAIDRESILIENT DISC ABOUT THE PERIPHERAL EDGE THEREOF, A FLEXIBLE HINGECONNECTED WITH SAID OUTER WALL AND SAID RESILIENT MEMBER, A FASTENERCONNECTED WITH SAID OUTER WALL AND REMOVABLY CONNECTED WITH SAID DISC,SAID SECONDARY FLANGED COLLAR ON SAID DISC ADAPTED TO BE SLIDABLYENGAGED WITHIN SAID FLANGED COLLAR TO POSITION SAID DISC IN FIXEDRELATION TO SAID HOLLOW RECEPTACLE.